Washington Huskies: Will Joe Mathis Return Against Alabama?

Joe Mathis says he’s nearly healed, but is it realistic to expect him to take the field, when the Washington Huskies face Alabama at the end of December?

Back when Joe Mathis suffered a torn ligament in his toe, he vowed to return if the Washington Huskies went to the Rose Bowl. At the time it was perceived as hopeful bluster, from a player whose college career was over.

Well, we now know the Huskies will be playing a couple of days earlier, in the Peach Bowl. However, if a recent social media post from Mathis is anything to go by, he does appear to have an excellent chance of making good on his prediction.

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The senior recently took to Instagram, to update his followers on his progress. He wrote: “I’m missing the game so much right now. #almostHEALED #coupleWEEKS.”

When Mathis suffered his toe injury, he initially attempted to rehab for two weeks, hoping to return for the end of the regular season. However, after realizing he would only be operating at about 50 percent, he opted for surgery.

Speaking to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times on the eve of his surgery, Mathis said: “I was trying to come back, but the bone was just wiggling around in there.

“It was a really hard decision (to have surgery, but) it’s not about myself. I thought about my team and my son and my wife.”

The procedure took place on November 8th, with the timeline for recovery and rehabilitation set at around six weeks. As such, the Ontario, California native will theoretically return on December 20th, giving him just under two weeks to prepare for the clash with Alabama.

Understandably, if Mathis can return in time, it would provide a significant boost for the Huskies, who are 14.5 point underdogs at the time of writing. Before suffering his injury, he led the Dawgs in sacks and was rated as the nation’s most productive edge rusher, by Pro Football Focus.

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What’s your take? Do you genuinely believe Mathis will be back in time to face Alabama? Or is it not worth Huskies’ fans getting their hopes up? Share your thoughts in the comments section.